CELEBRATING
GREAT COMPOSERS
(WHO HAPPEN TO BE WOMEN)
Vicki Peters, Artistic Director and Conductor
Saturday, July 30, 2016 at 7:30 p.m.
St. Mary’s Chapel at St. Paul Seminary
St. Paul, MN
Sunday, July 31, 2016 at 3:00 p.m.
St. Mary’s Chapel at St. Paul Seminary
St. Paul, MN
Free concerts—contributions welcome
www.VoxNovaChorale.org
Notes from the Artistic Director
Welcome to Vox Nova Chorale’s fourth summer of concerts!
Our mission is to provide opportunities for emerging
composers, conductors and singers to hone their skills. This
spring we put out a call for scores from emerging women
composers and received 94 compositions from 52 emerging
women composers from all over the world. The four
compositions I chose are from composers who live in San
Francisco, Atlanta, Austin, and New Jersey/Minneapolis.
Three of the songs are world premiers and one a midwestern premier. The composers chosen enjoyed the
opportunity to polish their compositions individually with
nationally known composer Abbie Betinis.
In addition, four emerging conductors had a wonderful time working on their conducting
skills with Dr. Angela Broeker , director of choral activities at the University of St.Thomas. Dr.
Therees Hibbard from St. Olaf College worked with the choir on body singing, freeing the body
and thus the tone and gesture. Many thanks to these fabulous conductors and teachers who
took the time to share their expertise.
The theme of great composers (who happen to be women) is near to my heart. Although there
are still challenges, women have more opportunities now to have their music published,
heard, and performed compared to the 1800s when Fanny Mendelssohn wrote under her
brother Felix’s name. However, providing encouragement and opportunity fosters more
artists to emerge and develop their skills. I found it interesting that Hildegard von Bingen
wrote over 70 songs in the 1100s, making her one of the more prolific composers of her day
(medieval period).
In addition to students and recent graduates from Century, Concordia, Luther, Mankato State,
and St. Olaf colleges, this year we also have singers from Augsburg, Bethel, and Northwestern
colleges. It gives me great hope for a better world to see these emerging artists honing their
craft, creating beauty in a world that is in much need. Text by the Dalai Lama used in one of
our emerging composers new piece, “On Compassion,” says it well, “Love and compassion are
necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive”.
Thank you for your continued support of Vox Nova Chorale. You’re helping create a vibrant
future for our choral community!
Gratefully,
Vicki Vincelli Peters
CELEBRATING GREAT COMPOSERS
(WHO HAPPEN TO BE WOMEN)
I.
At the Round Earth’s Imagined Corners
Williametta Spencer (b. 1932)
Directed by Paige Armstrong
O Frondens Virga
Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179)
Duet: Jessica Bandelin, Val Krych
Three Madrigals
Emma Lou Diemer (b. 1927)
Directed by Miller LaMotte
Was Ist Ein Mensch
Fanny Mendelssohn (1805-1847)
II.
Carol of the Stranger
Abbie Betinis (b. 1980)
Soloists: Mitchell Peery, Kelsey Letourneau/Hannah Myott
Benedictus, from amass
Jocelyn Hagen (b. 1980)
Quartet: Val Krych, Jessica Bandelin, Bryan Wasnik, Chris Wallace
I. Sitting on the Porch
V. Child’s Elm Song (From A Choral Song Cycle)
Carolyn Jennings (b. 1936)
McKay (From An American Thanksgiving)
arr. Carol Barnett (b. 1949)
Directed by Andrea Petersen
III.
Sonnet 116
Directed by Paige Armstrong
Do Not Stand at my Grave and Weep
Soloist: Paige Armstrong
On Compassion
INTERMISSION
Julie Mitchell (b. 1992)
Shruthi Rajasekar (b. 1996)
Stephanie Andrews (b. 1968)
Directed by Bryan Waznik
Duets: Val Krych/Hanna Myott, Jessica Bendelin/Joan O’Donnell, Josh Cofield/Scott Senko, Erik
Berthelsen/Mitchell Peery
Write it on Your Heart
IV.
I Thank You God
Margie Halloran (b. 1985)
Gwyneth Walker (b. 1947)
Wanting Memories
Ysaye Bernwell (b. 1946)
Hark I Hear the Harp’s Eternal
arr. Alice Parker (b. 1925)
Program Notes
I.
At the Round Earth’s Imagined Corners
Williametta Spencer (b. 1932)
Text by John Donne (1572-1631)
Dr. Williametta Spencer is a highly awarded organist, pianist and composer. Her setting of “At the
Round Earth’s” Imagined Corners is a challenging piece and is performed often by festival choirs,
adult choirs and high-level high school and collegiate ensembles. Spencer created an engaging and
fantastical arrangement of John Donne’s apocalyptic text. She brilliantly illustrates the chaos and
grandeur of the poem with constantly changing meters, tempos and extreme dynamic
changes. Spencer challenges the listener by using the last, and most controversial line of the poem,
as the climax of the piece. By leaving the ending powerful, yet unanswered, Donne’s text and
Spencer’s setting leave room for wonder and questioning about the true fate of mankind.
At the round earth’s imaged corners, blow
Your trumpets Angels and arise, arise
From death, you numberless infinities
Of souls, and to your scattered bodies go,
All whom the flood did,
and fire shall, o’erthrow,
All whom war, dearth, age, agues, tyrannies,
Despair, law, chance, hath slain,
and you whose eyes,
Shall behold God,
and never taste death’s woe.
O Frondens Virga (Sung in Latin)
But let them sleep, Lord,
and me mourn s space;
For, if above all these, my sins abound,
‘Tis late to ask abundance of thy grace,
When we are there.
Here on this lowly ground,
Teach me how to repent; for that’s as good
As if thou’hadst seal’d my pardon with thy
blood.
Hildegard von Bingen (1098 -1179)
Text by Hildegard von Bingen
A cloistered Benedictine abbess, Hildegard of Bingen had an impressive wide range of expertise. In
addition to being one of the earliest documented composers, she was a writer, theologian, visionary,
and early scholar of natural science and medicine. In spite of her alleged lack of formal training,
Hildegard put out a significant body of musical work. A large portion of this work is contained in
Hildegard’s “Symphonia armonie celestium revelationum” (“Symphony of the Harmony of
Heavenly Revelations”), from which “O Frondens Virga” is taken. She was named a Doctor of the
Church by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012.
O frondens virga,
in tua nobilitate stans
sicut aurora procedit:
nunc gaude et letare
et nos debiles dignare
a ma la consuetudine leberare
atque manum tuam
Tu am porrige
ad eregendum nos.
O blooming branch,
you stand upright in your nobility,
as breaks the dawn on high:
Rejoice now and be glad,
and deign to free us, frail and weakened,
from the wicked habits of our age;
stretch forth your hand
to lift us up aright.
Three Madrigals
Emma Lou Diemer (b. 1927)
Text by William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
Emma Lou Diemer, Ph.D, studied composition at Yale University and earned her doctorate from
Eastman School of Music in 1960. Her "Three Madrigals" is a three-movement choral piece that sets
different Shakespeare texts. The first movement, "O Mistress mine, where are you roaming?" is a
lilting serenade from “Twelfth Night.” The second movement, "Take, oh, take those lips away" sets
homophonic delicacy slowly and longingly from “Measure for Measure.” The final movement, "Sigh
no more, ladies, sigh no more!" is a rousing setting of text from Shakespeare's “Much Ado About
Nothing.”
I.
O Mistress mine where are you roaming?
O stay and hear your true love’s coming:
That can sing both high and low.
Trip no further pretty sweeting.
Journeys end in lovers’ meeting,
Every wise man’s son doth know.
What is love, ‘tis love hereafter,
Present mirth, hath present laughter:
What’s to come, is still unsure.
In delay there lies no plenty,
Then come kiss me sweet and twenty:
Youth’s a stuff will not endure.
II.
Take, oh take those lips away,
That so sweetly were forsworn;
And those eyes, the break of day,
Lights that do mislead the morn!
But my kisses bring again, Bring again;
Seals of love, but seal’d in vain,
Seal’d in vain!
Was Ist Ein Mensch from Hiob (Sung in German)
III.
Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more.
Men were deceivers ever,
One foot in sea, and one on shore,
To on thing constant never.
Then sigh not so, but let them go,
And be you blithe and bonny,
Converting all your sounds of woe
Into hey nonny, nonny.
Sing no more ditties, sing no more
Of dumps so dull and heavy.
The fraud of men was ever so
Since summer first was leavy.
Then sigh not so, but let me go,
And be you blithe and bonny,
Converting all your sounds of woe
Into hey, nonny, nonny.
Fanny Hensel née Mendelssohn (1805-1847)
Having been raised in a professionally restrictive time period, Fanny Mendelssohn’s interest in being
a composer was discouraged by many, including her own father. Nonetheless, Fanny managed to
become a prolific creator. She ultimately amassed a catalogue of over 460 compositions, including a
number of pieces that were published under the name of her younger brother, Felix. “Hiob” (“Job”)
is a short cantata for choir, soloists, and orchestra. This opening chorus from the work contains a
number of short motifs repeated with multiple variations as though to search for an answer to the
question: “What humankind, that they are magnified and you are afflicted by them?”
Was ist ein Mensch, daß du ihn groß achtest
und bekümmerst dich mit ihm?
Du suckest ihn täglich heim
und versuchest ihn all Stunde.
Warum verbirgest du dein Antlitz?
Willst du wider ein fliegend Blatt
so eifrig sein und einem dürren Halm
verfolgen?
Laben und Wohltat hast du an mir getan,
und dein Aufsehn bewahrt meinem Odem,
und wiewohl du solches in dein Herzen
verbirgest,
so weiß ich doch, daß du gedenkest.
II.
Carol of the Stranger
What is humankind that they are magnified
and you are afflicted by them?
and worry yourself with him?
You seek him at home every day
and test him all hours.
Why do you hide your face?
Do you want to frighten a flying leaf
so eagerly and pursue dry chaff?
You have granted me life and blessings,
and your overseeing preserved my spirit,
and these things you hide in your hear,
I know that you remember.
Abbie Betinis (b. 1980)
Text by Michael Dennis Browne (b. 1965)
Abbie Betinis comes from a notable line of Christmas carol composers. In 1922, her greatgrandfather, Rev. Bates G. Burt, began writing carols to be sent as Christmas cards to his
parishioners. The torch was passed in 1942 to his son, Alfred, who is famous for his Alfred Burt
Carols. Nearly fifty years later (2001), Abbie sought to continue the tradition and began composing
her own carols, which are now featured in a special segment on Minnesota Public Radio each
December. Abbie’s offering from 2013, “Carol of the Stranger,” was written in collaboration with a
University of Minnesota professor emeritus, poet Michael Dennis Browne. The piece can be seen as
a companion to Alfred’s “Christ in the Stranger’s Guise.”
Peace and grace be to this house
where all are welcomed in;
Receive the guest, receive his heart:
Tell the Stranger, tell.
Blessings be upon this place,
Let every wound be healed,
Let every secret, every dream:
Tell the Angel, tell.
Tell the Stranger what you cannot tell
Thosewho love you and desire joy: Tell.
Make tall your walls, make long these beams,
Who once belived alone;
Make wide the circle, feed the fire:
Tell the Silence, tell:
Tell the Silence what you cannot tell
Those who love you and desire joy.
Tell.
Tell the Angel what you cannot tell
Those who love you and desire joy.
Tell.
Peace and grace be to this house,
All will be returned;
Let every soul be called your own,
Tell the Mystery, tell.
Tell the Mystery what you long to tell
Those who love you and desire joy.
Tell.
Benedictus from the oratorio, amass (Sung in Latin)
Jocelyn Hagen (b. 1980)
Text from Traditional Roman Catholic Mass
Jocelyn Hagen has collaborated both as a pianist and composer with a number of peer artists,
including local indie hip hop musician, Dessa. “Benedictus” is an excerpt from Jocelyn’s oratorio
“amass” which contains settings of texts from the Roman Catholic Mass (as are traditionally set by
composers) interspersed with poetry translations by Daniel Ladinksy. The “Benedictus” consists of
very few motifs that are repeated and interlaid over each other, building to a climax and relaxing
back into the quiet from whence it came. Jocelyn is currently artist-in-residence at the North
Dakota State University School of Music.
Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
I. Sitting on the Porch
V. Child’s Elm Song from A Choral Song Cycle
Carolyn Jennings (b. 1936)
Text by Mary Moore Easter (b.1941)
Text by Michael Dennis Browne (b. 1965)
These two charming pieces are from a choral song cycle about reminiscence by Carolyn Jennings,
professor emeritus of music at St. Olaf College.
The first song from the cycle, “Sitting on the Porch,” tells the story of a person recounting youthful,
pleasant memories of time spent with grandmother. This delightful text, published in “Absorb the
Colours: Poems by Northfield Women Poets,” was written by Mary Moore Easter, professor
emerita of dance at Carleton College.
“Childs Elm Song” is a lovely little text by Michael Dennis Browne, telling of a child’s imaged
problem that trees no longer exist in the world. The creative solution to this fictional dilemma -“I
would take my turn and stand in the street!” Originally from England, Browne currently resides in
Minneapolis. A professor emeritus of English at the University of Minnesota, he has collaborated
with composers such as Stephen Paulus, and Tim Takach, in addition to Carolyn Jennings.
I.
An event, in those days,
For which one freshened up.
The houses were close to the street
And to sit on the porch
Meant to be accessible
To visit and chat and receive
To be public and on display.
V.
If there were no trees
I would take my turn
And stand in the street
With arms open wide
In case there were birds
Who needed a place to sing.
My grandmother did not sit on the porch
Before four o’clock
But sometimes stayed there
Through sweet summer evenings and when I
was with her I thought of it as an occasion.
Mckay (from An American Thanksgiving)
arr. Carol Barnett (b. 1949)
Text by Samuel Stennett (1727- 1795)
Carol Barnett served as composer in residence with the Dale Warland Singers from 1992 to 2001.
“An American Thanksgiving,” three hymns from “The Sacred Harp,” was composed for the
ensemble’s final season in 2003. In the second movement from the set, “McKay,” two deliberate
iterations of the melody (as it appears in “The Sacred Harp”) surround a driving, atmospheric
polyphony comprised of multiple repeated fragments of the melody and text.
O the transporting, rapt’rous scene
That rises to my sight!
Sweet fields arrayed in living green,
And rivers of delight.
There gen’rous fruits that never fail
On trees immortal grow,
There rocks and hills
and brooks and vales,
With milk and honey flow.
INTERMISSION
III. Emerging Composers
Sonnet 116
Julie Mitchell (b. 1992)
Text by William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
Julie Mitchell’s setting of Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 116” illustrates his themes of un-ending and
devoted love from the first note to the last. With sweeping melodic lines, inventive harmonies and
effective use of dynamic contrast and text-painting, the listener is swept away by the beauty of the
voice and the ease with which the text is so beautifully portrayed.
Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove.
O no! It is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wand’ring bark,
Whose worth’s unknown, although his height
be taken.
Love’s not Time’s fool, though rosy lips and
cheeks
Within his bending sickle’s compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and
weeks,
But hears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me prov’d,
I never writ, nor no man ever lov’d.
Do Not Stand At My Grave from Requiem
Shruthi Rajasekar (b. 1996)
Text by Mary Elizabeth Frye (1905-2004)
In her compositions, Shruthi Rajasekar frequently works to mesh together musical styles from the
South Indian classical and Western classical traditions. Her treatment of Mary Elizabeth Frye's
beloved poem is no exception. In this setting, Shruthi saw fit to appeal to several Indian modes (or
scales) called ragas. In her words, “ragas are more than tools for our use—they must be cajoled and
pleaded with before they will enter a space.” As a poem “which explores the myriad dimensions of
living” and is ultimately more about life than death, Shruthi felt that the poem lent itself well to the
evocation of many different ragas.
Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there. I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.
On Compassion
When you awaken in the morning’s hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft star shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry;
I am not there. I did not die.
Stephanie Andrews (b. 1968)
Text by Tenzin Gyatso, the XIVth Dalai Lama (b. 1935)
The text for this piece comes from two quotes by the Dalai Lama, as well as the Tibetan Buddhist
mantra, "Om mani padme hum" which the choir repeats throughout. The composer writes that the
purpose of the mantra is "to invoke compassion and ease suffering and pain." The piece begins as
an introspective meditation, before turning outward, encouraging us to seek fulfillment by exercising
compassion with those around us.
If you want others to be happy, practice
compassion.
If you want to be happy, practice compassion.
Love and compassion are necessities,
not luxuries.
Without them, humanity cannot survive.
Om mani padme hum.
Write it on Your Heart
Marjorie Halloran (b. 1985)
Text by Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)
Ralph Waldo Emerson’s poem is one of steadfast optimism. Marjorie Halloran paints the text with
a fine tipped brush and great sensitivity that highlights the natural rhythm of the text. The
distinction between the poem’s optimism and the reality of life’s anxieties is painted through
buoyant time signature changes and sudden harmonic dissonances throughout the piece. Breaks of
silence in the music represent the beginning of a new day and a new chance.
Write it on your heart
that every day is the best day in the year.
He is rich who owns the day,
and no one owns the day
who allows it to be invaded with fret and
anxiety.
Finish each day and be done with it.
You have done what you could.
Some blunders and absurdities,
no doubt crept in.
IV.
I Thank You God
Forget them as soon as you can,
tomorrow is a new day;
begin it well and serenely,
with too high a spirit
to be cumbered with your old nonsense.
This new day is too dear,
with its hopes and invitations,
to waste a moment on the yesterdays.
Gwyneth Walker (b. 1947)
Text by e.e cummings (1894-1962)
The music of Gwyneth Walker is beloved by performers and audiences alike for its energy, and
reverence. A former faculty member of the Oberlin Conservatory College, Walker resigned to be a
full-time composer and dairy farmer. “I Thank You God” was premiered in February, 1999 at the
National American Choral Directors Association convention in Chicago. The poem by Cummings
is a celebration creation and spiritual awakening. In the opening gesture, Walker creates an
atmosphere of ethereal vastness out of which the choir emerges. She places particular emphasis on
Cummings’s phrase “I who have died am alive again today” which is repeated several times
throughout the piece.
i thank you God for most this amazing day:
for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky;
and for everything which is natural
which is infinite which is yes
(i who have died am alive again today, and this
is the sun’s birthday; this is the birthday of life
and love and wings: and of the gay great
happening illimitably earth)
how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any –lifted from the no of all
nothing –human merely being doubt
unimaginable You?
(now the ears of my ears awake and no the
eyes of my eyes are opened)
Wanting Memories
Ysaye M. Barnwell (b. 1946)
Text by Ysaye M. Barnwell
Likely Ysaye M. Barnwell’s most popular composition, “Wanting Memories” has been performed
and recorded by countless vocal ensembles throughout the country since its premier by Sweet
Honey in the Rock (with whom Barnwell sang from 1979 to 2013). The poem has been interpreted
by many to describe the loss of a loved one. This may be in part because the premier recording of
the piece was dedicated to the memory of Barnwell’s father. However, Barnwell has stated that the
piece was completed during her father’s lifetime and the text functions more as Barnwell’s personal
reflection on her family history as a whole.
I am sitting here wanting memories to teach
me to see the beauty in the world through my
own eyes.
You said you’d rock me in the cradle of your
arms. You said you’d hold me ‘till the storms
of life were gone.
You said you’d comfort me in times like these
and now I need you. Now I need you… And
you are – gone.
Since you’ve gone and left me, there’s been so
little beauty, but I know I saw it clearly
through your eyes.
Now the world outside is such a cold and
bitter place.
Here inside I have few things that will
console.
And when I try to hear your voice about the
storms of life, then I remember all the things
that I was told.
Well, I am sitting here wanting memories to
tech me to see the beauty in the world
through my own eyes.
Yes, I am sitting here wanting memories to
teach me to see the beauty in the world
through my own eyes.
I think on the things that made me feel so
wonderful when I was young.
I think on the things that made me laugh,
made me dance, made me sing.
I think on the things that made me grow into
a being full of pride.
I think on these things, for they are true.
I am sitting here wanting memories to teach
me to see the beauty in the world through my
own eyes.
I thought that you were gone, but now I know
you’re with me.
You are the voice that whispers all I need to
hear.
I know a “Please”, a “Thank you”, and a smile
will take me far.
I know that I am you and you are me and we
are one.
I know that who I am in numbered in each
grain of sand.
I know that I am blessed, again, and again,
and again, and again.
Hark, I Hear the Harp’s Eternal
arr. Alice Parker (b. 1925)
Traditional Spiritual Text
Although a marvelous composer and arranger in her own right, Alice Parker was initially brought to
prominence through her collaborations with her former teacher at Julliard, Robert Shaw. She has
received particular notoriety for her settings of traditional hymns and African American spirituals.
Her lively setting of the Southern Harmony melody “Invitation” (“Hark, I Hear the Harps Eternal”),
is one of Parker’s most popular arrangements.
Hark, I hear the harps eternal
Ringing on the farther shore,
As I near those swollen waters,
With their deep and solemn roar.
And my soul though stained with sorrow,
Fading as the light of day,
Passes swiftly o’er those waters
to the city far away.
Hallelujah, praise the Lamb,
Glory to the great I AM.
Hallelujah, praise the Lamb,
Glory to the great I AM.
_____________________
About the Chorale
Vox Nova Chorale is a non-profit summer choir based in St. Paul, Minnesota, founded in 2013.
With the goal of encouraging educators, singers, and composers, the Chorale empowers and
provides opportunity for musicians of diverse backgrounds to perform excellent choral music at the
highest degree of artistry that enriches their lives and the community.
Learning and singing together are the goals of the 24 musicians joining the Chorale in its fourth
season. The diverse musical and educational backgrounds of each member—from current
undergraduate students to community and professional singers—creates an environment in which
ideas converge into a shared expression of artistry. In this spirit, we are proud to feature 4 emerging
composers and 4 student conductors to lead the Chorale in rehearsal and performance.
Vox Nova Chorale is regularly featured on Classical Minnesota Public Radio and has been chosen
for three MPR Regional Spotlights. In 2015 and 2016, the Chorale was one of a few regional
ensembles selected to be on MPR’s Taste of the Holidays, its annual holiday album distributed
nationally.
Personnel
Soprano
Paige Armstrong
Val Krych
Kelsey Letourneau
Hannah Myott
Samantha Spalding
Sarah Wiechmann
Alto
Jessica Bandelin
Jendalynn Lanz
Joan O’Donnell
Andrea Petersen
Tara Priolo
Suzanne Wiebusch
Tenor
Joshua Cofield
Kevin Fraley
Jeff Kidder
Miller LaMotte
Scott Senko
Bryan Waznik
Bass
Erik Berthelsen
Tim Gabriel
Jake Kruse
Mitchell Peery
Jeff Tunseth
Christopher Wallace
Vicki Peters, Artistic Director
Vicki Peters enjoys an active career of conducting, teaching, and singing. Vicki co-founded Vox
Nova Chorale in 2013 with the idea of bringing emerging choral musicians together to collaborate
and hone their skills with other excellent choral musicians. She directed The Summer Singers for
eight summers, including appearances at the 2010 North Central ACDA and 2008 Minnesota State
conventions. Vicki is a private voice teacher, was a project singer for the Dale Warland Singers, and
currently is a singer and soloist for the professional choir, The Singers, under the direction of Dr.
Matthew Culloton. In the summer, she sings in the Minnesota Beethoven Festival Chorale, under
the direction of Dale Warland. She has taught choral music at Fridley High School, and developed
and led excellent church choirs, hand bell choirs, and orchestral groups at various churches for
sixteen years. In addition, she was the assistant director for Two Rivers Chorale under the direction
of Bruce Phelps, and the North High Alumni Choir under the direction of Carl Lipke, and a soloist
on European tours with both directors.
Vicki graduated with a vocal music education degree from St. Cloud State University, where she
received choral, vocal, and opera scholarships and Phi Kappa Phi membership, and is listed as an
Outstanding Alumni of the music department. She studied voice, choir, and opera with Charles
(Chuck) Peterson. Vicki is also a choral and vocal clinician and judges state large group and
solo/ensemble contests, is a member of ACDA, and serves on the State High School League
Contest Music Selection and Review Committee.
Paige Armstrong, Assistant Director
Paige is an accomplished teacher, singer and nationally
awarded conductor. In 2015, she won first place in the
graduate division of the NATS-MN competition. This
year, she placed first in the divisional MTNA Young
Artists vocal competition and later traveled to Texas to
compete in the national finals. In 2013, Paige won first
place in the National ACDA Undergraduate Conducting
Competition. Later that year, she traveled to New York
where she was a guest conductor of the Manhattan
Concert Chorale, led by Dr. Craig Arnold. Paige
graduated in 2012 from Luther College with a degree in
music education. She sings professionally around the
Twin Cities. She is in her fourth season with The Singers
–Minnesota Choral Artists, directed by Matthew
Culloton, and is also a soprano section leader and the assistant director of the Chancel Choir at
Wayzata Community Church. Paige has sung for other accomplished conductors such as Dale
Warland (Beethoven Festival Choir), Phillip Brunelle (Vocalessence), and Allen Hightower and Craig
Arnold (Nordic Choir – Luther College). In the Twin Cities, Paige has taught high school vocal
music at Delano Public Schools, Coon Rapids High School, and elementary general music at Red
Rock Elementary School.
Composer & Conductor Biographies
Composers:
Stephanie Andrews currently resides in Austin, Texas and teaches piano, voice, and composition at
Velocity Music Academy in Cedar Park, Texas. She received her doctorate in music education and
curriculum from the University of Texas at Austin. An emerging composer, Stephanie currently
studies composition with Dr. Rachel McInturff at Armstrong Community Music School. To date,
Chorus Austin (Austin, Texas), church choirs, and school choirs have performed her compositions.
She is the proud mother of two amazing boys, Joshua and John Caleb.
San Francisco Bay Area-born Marjorie Halloran received her Bachelor of Art in music
theory/composition from UC Davis, and her Masters in Fine Art, in composition/songwriting at
the Vermont College of Fine Arts, where she co-founded the choral program. Halloran's
compositions have been performed by multiple ensembles in the Bay Area and at VCFA, and she
has studied with Michael Early, Jonathan Bailey Holland, Don DiNicola, and Alice Parker. She is
the winner of the 2015-16 WomenSing "Youth Inspiring Youth" choral composition competition,
and her piece "8 Ways to Look at a Window" had its premiere in June 2016. Halloran's debut pop
album, Ready for Anything, was released in 2015, and both choral and pop works can be heard on
her website, marjoriehalloran.com.
Julie Mitchell is a graduate of Kennesaw State University, receiving two bachelor’s degrees: in
music composition and music education, choral concentration. During her coursework at KSU, she
studied voice with mezzo-soprano and artist-in-residence, Valerie Walters-Gold and studied
composition with Composer-in-residence, Dr. Laurence Sherr. In 2013 she was the winner of
Kennesaw State University's Concerto Competition with her SATB a cappella piece, "A Dream
Within a Dream," performed by the KSU Chamber Singers under the direction of Professor of
Choral Activities Dr. Leslie Blackwell. Julie recently attended the Spartanburg Philharmonic
Orchestra's Caffè Americano concert, where she was recognized for the Treefalls and SPO Call for
Scores. She was recently hired as the choral director at Statesboro High School and is currently
preparing to attend Georgia Southern University in August.
Shruthi Rajasekar is a rising junior at Princeton University, where she is majoring in music. A
native Minnesotan, Shruthi graduated from Wayzata High School in 2014. She won the Eric Stokes
Song Contest in 2008, and was commissioned to write for Zeitgeist in 2012. Shruthi is also an
accomplished soprano in the voice program at Princeton. In addition, she studies Carnatic (South
Indian classical) music with her mother and guru, Nirmala Rajasekar. In the fall of 2016, Shruthi will
study voice and composition at the Royal College of Music in London. Shruthi is honored that Vox
Nova Chorale is performing her piece, and would like to thank Abbie Betinis, Vicki Peters and all of
her mentors for their guidance and support.
Conductors:
Andrea Petersen is a student at University of Northwestern – St. Paul, completing bachelor’s
degress in music education and composition in December 2016. Originally from Southeastern
Minnesota, she moved to the Twin Cities after graduating as salutatorian from Schaeffer Academy in
Rochester, MN. Andrea has been very involved during her time at Northwestern as choral librarian
and student conductor for both the Northwestern Choir under the direction of Timothy Sawyer,
and the Women’s Chorale under Stephanie Trump. Founder of A+ Music, Andrea seeks to bring
the joy of music to learners of every age through youth choir camps, music classes, voice lessons,
and composition workshops. In her free time, Andrea enjoys working on her family’s eight-acre
organic vegetable farm.
Miller LaMotte is from Anoka, MN and is excited to be back with Vox Nova for a second season.
He will finish his bachelor’s degree in vocal music education from St. Olaf College in the coming
school year. In his time off from school, Miller enjoys re-reading his favorite childhood books and
teaching swimming lessons. After college, Miller hopes to find a teaching job and work with
children's choirs.
Bryan Waznik is originally from Menomonie, WI, and graduated from Luther College in 2015 with
a bachelor’s degree in music and a minor in K-12 Music Education. While there, he studied voice
with Andrew Whitfield and conducting with Allen Hightower. He participated in the jazz program,
as well as student-led a cappella groups on campus. Since Luther, he has spent the past year as the
choir director at Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Menomonie, WI. When not in rehearsal, Bryan
can often be found pursuing his interest in ballroom dance.
Acknowledgements
Abbie Betinis, composer clinician
Dr. Angela Broeker, conductor clinician
Dr. Therees Hibbard, choral clinician
Ken Fitzer, videographer
Kelsey Letourneau, program
Father Tom Margevicius, St. Mary's Chapel
Scott Senko, program notes
Stephen Swanson, accompanist
David Trembley, sound engineer
Karen Wilkerson, St. Michael's Lutheran
Board Members
Jill Brown, president
Joan O’Donnell, board member
Kelsey Letourneau, board member
Chris Paulsen, board member
Scott Peters, treasurer
Vicki Peters, artistic director and conductor
Matthew Culloton, music advisor
Audition for 2017
Interested in conducting, having your music performed, and/or singing with us? E-mail a music
resume to Vicki at [email protected] by May 1, 2017. Compositions must be
submitted in PDF format along with an MP3 or MIDI recording. Rehearsals are held Monday and
Thursday nights, 7 to 10 p.m. at St. Michael’s Lutheran Church in Roseville beginning in mid-June.
Mission
Vox Nova Chorale exists to educate, empower, and provide opportunity for singers, emerging
conductors, and composers, to collaborate and perform excellent choral music at the highest degree
of artistry that enriches their lives and the community.
Contribute
We are grateful for your generous financial contributions, 100 percent of which supports Chorale
operations such as securing rehearsal and concert venues, music, accompanists, clinicians, program
printing, and more. You may use the envelope enclosed in this program to donate today, or mail
your contribution to:
Vox Nova Chorale
1480 Myrtle Court
Maplewood, MN 55119
Checks payable to Vox Nova Chorale
Vox Nova Chorale is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Contributions are taxdeductible to the extent allowed by law. Thank you!
Grants funded by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund: This activity is made possible by the voters of
Minnesota through a grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation
from the arts and cultural heritage fund.